As the largest player in the console gaming market, Sony continues grossing record revenue from PlayStation sales. In the fiscal year 2022, which ended on March 31st, PlayStation users spent more than $6.3bn in combined digital and physical software purchases. Still, the total game unit sales have significantly dropped.

According to data presented by SportsLens.com, in the fiscal year 2022, the Japanese gaming giant sold 264.2 million PlayStation game software units for the PS4 and PS5, or 13% less than the year before.

Total Games Sales Plunged 22% in Two Years

Sony’s FY 2022 earnings report showed that PlayStation users buy fewer games but spend more on gaming titles. That doesn’t surprise, with $70 becoming the new normal for PlayStation 5 games. 

According to the company’s official data, Sony’s total games sales stood at 292.7 million units in the fiscal year 2018. After a drop to 276.1 million a year later, game sales skyrocketed in FY 2020 and hit an all-time high of 338.9 million.

However, statistics show the company’s total game software unit sales have been falling ever since. In FY 2021, Sony Corporation sold 303.2 million PS4 and PS5 titles, or 35 million less than a year before. The downsizing trend continued in FY 2022, with total game sales plunging to 264.2 million units and showing a considerable 22% drop in two years. Statistics also show around 70% of PlayStation game sales were generated via digital downloads, almost the same as a year before.

Besides a considerable game sales drop, Sony’s subscription game service, PlayStation Plus, has also lost subscribers. Initially created to sell online gaming access, the service underwent a significant change in June last year. Still called PS Plus, it has now become Sony’s version of Xbox Game Pass, offering three subscription models. The existing service became PlayStation Plus Essential, while higher-priced tiers, PlayStation Plus Extra and PlayStation Plus Premium, add access to downloadable and streamable titles previously available under PlayStation Now.

But despite the rebranding and relaunch, PS Plus lost 600,000 subscribers, with their total number falling from an all-time high of 48 million in December 2021 to 47.4 million in March.

Third-Party Games Sales Dropped by 38.6 million Year-over-Year

Sony’s earnings report showed that most of the game sales drop came from third-party titles. In the fiscal year of 2022, the company sold 43.5 million PlayStation-exclusive first-party games for the PS4 and PS5, slightly down from 43.9 million a year before.

On the other hand, third-party game sales had fallen by 38.6 million or almost 15% year-over-year. Statistics show total game sales of third-party titles stood at 220.7 million in FY 2022, significantly down from 259.3 million units sold a year before that.